Grade 10 Explore Natural Beauty of Bali

Oct. 13, 2017

Day 3

Through the Eyes of the Student

Woken up by the sound and light of nature, we were excited to embrace every moment of day 2. The morning was as usual; we went to breakfast at 7:30 a.m., some of us used the extra time in the morning to get ready, socialize with friends and explore the hotel and its surroundings.

We left the hotel at 8:30 a.m. and our travel experience was different to usual. Most people would normally be on their phones and listening to their own music while transiting from one place to another but thanks to our good buddy George, we took advantage of the speaker on the bus! The bus was buzzing with a fun, carefree vibe, and everyone was hyped for the day ahead! Even after one and a half hour of travel, some people were still wanting to continue playing their music on the speakers!

A long yet fun ride led us to the main event for the day: white water rafting. Through the mud, across the gravel and up the stairs, the students and teachers made it to the shelter where our guides were waiting for us! The guides informed us of important information we needed to be aware of in order to have a smooth and safe ride.

People were separated into groups of four. Each group had a guide on the raft with them. We left land and depended on the current and our rafting skills. For most people it was their first time rafting. A few of us fell into the river, but fortunately, there were no injuries. Fighting through bumpy paths and strong currents, we stopped at a waterfall for a little snack break.

After the snack break, we started rafting again. To add a little favor to the voyage, the groups put a competitive spin on the trip. Our goal, to beat the others; there was a lot of teasing, splashing, and good fun! There was time for some swimming after the rafting. It was a great experience swimming with the current as my body moved with the rhythm of the water.

There was a small waterfall along the rafting course that we were able to go down - it was so thrilling and exciting. After we finished rafting, we went to eat lunch. We had noodles, fried rice and chicken. It was quite good. I have realized that I love Indonesian food after coming to Bali.

After lunch, we changed our clothes and moved to the next place - very fatigued. We arrived at back at the camp where we made chocolate. We did a couple of activities with our guide. The first activity was using our bodies as instruments to add beats to make music. We learned some traditional Indonesian beats and simple, traditional dance moves. The second activity was "show me how you get down." Whoever got picked made their own funny dance move and we had to follow it.

After that we painted some kites for the local students - the topic was nature. The kite my classmate and I made was not that great (in our opinion); however, I made up a great story to explain the meaning behind the kite. I think the best design was a kite which reflected the sunrise with birds. After these activities, the guides gave us french fries - which everyone loved.

After leaving the camp, we went into town for dinner at a pizza restaurant. All these activities today were great experiences, and we are looking forward to tomorrow!

Bali - Day 3

Day 2- Bali

Through the Eyes of the Student

"The first day of the field trip started with one of the most energetic activities, in my opinion, which was biking. After hours of travelling in buses and small vans, we arrived at our destination; a small local village, where we were assigned to a bicycle - our mode of transport for the day!

"Some students did not participate in the biking activity due to various reasons (e.g. injuries, etc.), most of us seized the challenge and were looking forward to the long and rigorous bike ride! Instructions such as how to park a bike properly, direction on staying to the the left side of the road, remain in single file, and more were relayed by our instructor before taking off. Most of us have ridden a bike for years, but these simple instructions were key in successfully completing our ride safely."

"During our ride, we passed by a local school, where we met some adorable kids who had prepared and sung a little song for our visit. We then took off to our next destination, a traditional Balinese house. On arrival, local snacks, cakes, and green tea were set out which we happily enjoyed as we had worked up quite the appetite. We played some games introduced by the teachers and learned a few facts about Balinese houses. Did you know, every Balinese house contains one family temple to ensure the peace and happiness in the family? We didn't! Also, the Balinese live with their families (not just immediate family) but also extended family! The entire house contains a flat for the parents, for the kids, and a natural yard formed by the forest.

"Following our meet and greet with the Balinese family, we set off into nature where we immersed ourselves in the natural beautify of the farm land, settled down for a delicious local coconut juice and then continued on to another local house where we ate chicken, noodles and Kuno camp. The food was very good and we enjoyed it a lot. Most students finished their servings (some wanted more!)."

"After a brief rest, we tried our hand at making traditional Balinese chocolate sauce out of cocoa beans and palm sugar. We tested a raw cocoa fruit, and then split into groups to cook the cocoa beans. We all had a job: Some of us were peeling off the cocoa beans and some of us were grinding and crushing the beans that we peeled. After grinding all of it, we watched the organizer boil it with condensed milk and palm sugar. Looking on, some of us wanted to try the mixing part - which we did!"

"When we were finished with our afternoon snack, we met a group of local school kids which we presumed were in primary school. They did not speak fluent English, but they were very adorable and they were very interested in us. We played four activities;

Cat and Mice - We made a circle holding hands with each other and a local kid was chosen as the mouse and one of us as the cat. The mouse was inside our circle and our job was to protect the mouse from being caught by the cat. The cat was on the outside of the circle and had to try and break in when we weren’t noticing. The cat could also tag another person (one of us) and make that person a cat.

Pass a marble on a spoon - We were evenly split into four teams with the same number on each and the little kids had to race to see which group finished first. The goal: to hold a marble on a spoon which we held with our teeth. We had to walk forward to a certain point and then walk back. The group who had everyone complete the task first won! once first is the winner.

Cat and mice (with a rucksack) - We had to jump to the destination with a rucksack.

Eating Competition - To be honest, it didn't really work out. The organizer hung rice crackers on a string, and we were supposed to eat it in a certain amount of time not using our hands. Most of us didn’t even bite it, and some of us dragged it down. It was the same with the little kids.

In the end, we gifted the students with notebooks and snacks.

"We moved on to the building offerings section, our class were split into two groups and we were told to build offerings that contained a certain meaning (to the gods or to a family) using local, traditional methods and decorations. However, we had limited time so we needed to work together using our communication skills to figure everything out. As a result, both groups presented the final product with meaningful contents and pleasant appearances."

"After these sections, we went back to the town area, which took about an hour and a half. We had crispy duck for dinner in Ubud, headed to the local grocery store for some snacks and headed back to the hotel - what a day!"

We can't wait for tomorrow!

Day 2 - Bali

Day 1

A short but sweet update for the Grade 10's as most of their day consisted of travel... to BALI!

Leaving ISNS at 10:00 a.m., the Grade 10 students headed to the Hong Kong airport. Everything was smooth sailing; the group checked-in on time, boarded the flight and landed in Denpasar at 3:45 p.m. Upon arrival, the Grade 10 students met their organizer, Erick, at the airport and the group boarded a bus to the resort in Ubud. After a long day of travel everyone headed off to bed to prepare for their early start the next day!